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The Philosophy of Crime

203: Does Psychological Profiling Really Work?

Season 2, Ep. 3

FBI profilers are the mystical heroes of law enforcement, with the ability to look at a crime and imagine the suspect. But is it science or just wishful thinking?

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  • 7. Bonus Episode: The Premiere of Syynth Sleuths!

    38:47||Season 6, Ep. 7
    Each week, journalist James Renner and A.I. cohost Sky ponder the nature of consciousness while investigating the world's most confounding unsolved mysteries.
  • 6. 606: The Boogeyman Effect

    20:45||Season 6, Ep. 6
    When a new serial killer is caught, police have the tendency to try to blame them for every other murder in the vicinity. Why is it easier for us to believe in one Boogeyman rather than several? Covered topics: Sam Little, Arie Kruglanski, Donna Webster, Edward Wayne Edwards, Rex Heuermann, Stoicism, Marcus AureliusFurther Reading:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aureliushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicismhttps://www.orionphilosophy.com/stoic-blog/4-stoic-life-lessons-to-manage-fearhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Edwards_(serial_killer)https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2016/01/26/avery-case-great-falls-ties/79376778/https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/why-we-need-answershttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/us/btk-daughter-dennis-rader-kerri-rawson.htmlhttps://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/the-read/articles/in-the-shadowshttps://www.cleveland19.com/2019/10/11/akron-mother-murdered-was-victim-serial-killer-samuel-little/https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/05/29/texas-ranger-serial-killer-samuel-littlehttps://www.thecut.com/2018/12/how-serial-killer-samuel-little-was-caught.htmlhttps://www.oxygen.com/catching-a-serial-killer-sam-little/crime-news/worst-serial-killer-history-samuel-little-confessionshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Littlehttps://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/samuel-little-most-prolific-serial-killer-in-us-history-100619https://www.dps.texas.gov/coldCase/Home/Details/197
  • 5. 605: Why Are Drugs Illegal?

    22:52||Season 6, Ep. 5
    Why are some drugs illegal and others are not? Learn the sordid history of the War on Drugs and why it doesn't work.Covered topics: Allen Russell, Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914, War on Drugs, Magic mushrooms, John Stuart Mill, Rick DoblinFurther Reading:https://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/pie2023_drugs.htmlhttps://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2023.htmlhttps://apnews.com/article/mississippi-0e463c390bedc7f6b25fb7e54b955b74https://atlantablackstar.com/2022/07/03/the-travesty-of-it-all-court-upholds-mississippi-mans-life-sentence-for-1-5-ounce-of-marijuana-possession-and-his-case-is-not-an-anomaly/https://lawliberty.org/the-simple-truth-about-j-s-mills-simple-truth/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Millhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Libertyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_drugshttps://www.aclu.org/report/report-war-marijuana-black-and-whitehttps://www.cato.org/commentary/us-prisons-thriving-jim-crow-marijuana-arrests#https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWrbUwNGoWchttps://fee.org/articles/how-15-ounces-of-marijuana-landed-this-man-a-life-long-prison-sentence/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haT4FrOYPtkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Truth_and_Lies_in_a_Nonmoral_Sense
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    21:01||Season 6, Ep. 4
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  • 3. 603: Psychopaths and the Bicameral Mind

    19:10||Season 6, Ep. 3
    A new theory on consciousness may explain why psychopaths hear voices telling them to kill.Covered topics: Son of Sam, the bicameral mind, Julian Jaynes, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, Jared Lee Loughner, Herbert Mullin Further Reading:https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/roger-sperrys-split-brain-experiments-1959-1968https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F30Jykk8z0Ehttps://www.forensicscolleges.com/blog/resources/dangerous-minds-criminal-mental-illnesshttps://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/evidence-and-research/learn-more-about/3627https://www.ranker.com/list/people-driven-insane-by-voices-in-their-heads/jacob-sheltonhttps://news.stanford.edu/2014/07/16/voices-culture-luhrmann-071614/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Jayneshttp://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/psyc%20405/serial%20killers/berkowitz,%20david.pdfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Berkowitzhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qU1sDBU9Cshttps://nypost.com/2016/07/17/i-survived-son-of-sams-murder-spree/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y50nsmUVeVU
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    24:23||Season 6, Ep. 2
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    20:22||Season 6, Ep. 1
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    31:34||Season 5, Ep. 7
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    20:18||Season 5, Ep. 6
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